System and method for loading a cargo space with piece goods

ABSTRACT

A machining system and unit, especially a welding cell, is provided for use for the machining of workpieces ( 2 ), especially body parts of vehicles. The machining system has one or more machining stations ( 15, 16 ) with robots ( 18, 19, 20 ) and at least one rotation or turning station ( 5 ), which has at least two work stations ( 6, 7 ) for carrying out different operations simultaneously. The turning station ( 5 ) has at least two multiaxially movable turning units ( 8, 9 ) arranged next to one another with said gripping tools ( 11, 12, 13 ). The working areas ( 10 ) intersect each other at the work stations ( 6, 7 ).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a United States National Phase application ofInternational Application PCT/EP03/10818 filed Sep. 30, 2003 and claimsthe benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of German Application DE102 46 285.2 filed Oct. 2, 2002, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an installation and a method for loading aloading space with piece goods preferably having an at least partlydeformable piece good surface, with a feed device on which the piecegoods can be singly fed in, as well as a transfer device onto which thepiece goods can be transferred from the feed device and by means ofwhich the piece goods can be brought into the interior of the loadingspace.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The industrial dispatch of piece goods by truck, railway, ship oraircraft provides for the use of containers, which are to be loaded andunloaded with respect to the particular piece goods to be transported.Typically such containers have a parallelepipedic loading space volume,which is conventionally accessible from a single, openable loading spaceside for loading and unloading. However, particular significance isattached to the loading process, particularly as this determines thedegree of filling with which the container is loaded with a plurality ofindividual piece goods and which ultimately decisively establishes theeconomics of the transportation. There is also a special loading plandetermining the loading or stacking pattern for the piece goods withinthe container for ensuring the transportation safety of the individualpiece goods and also that of the entire container. Thus, loose piecegoods within the container dramatically increase the safety of theoverall transportation.

Having said this the remaining statements mainly relate to the loadingof piece goods with a flexible or deformable piece good surface, such asis e.g. the case with piece good-filled sacks or bags, such as e.g.those for cereals, sand, salt, spices, sugar, etc. However, thesubsequently described aspects and measures can also relate to piecegoods with fixed piece good surfaces, such as e.g. packages, even thoughto a somewhat limited extent.

The loading of sack-like piece goods into container loading spacesnormally takes place manually. It is admittedly known to use atelescopic belt conveyor which projects into a loading space and bymeans of which the individual piece goods can be singly transferred intosaid loading space, but it is still up to the person located in theloading space to deposit the incoming piece goods in accordance with acorresponding stacking pattern within the loading space. Apart from thein part very high dead weight of the individual piece goods, it is notpossible with such a partially manual loading or only through theapplication of very high effort to stack piece goods to just below theloading space top or roof, particularly as the loading space heightgenerally exceeds the manually accessible working height.

Completely automated loading systems with which the above described,multiside-closed containers can be loaded are not at present available.In addition, when using the at least partly automated loadingprocedures, as a result of the only very short time slot within whichthe loading process must be concluded, it is not possible to ensure theprecise maintenance of the desired positions of the individual piecegoods established on the basis of a predetermined loading pattern. As aresult the necessary piece good quantity cannot be completely broughtinto the loading space in many cases. In particular on loading piecegoods packed in sacks, on depositing the individual piece goodsundefined geometrical shapes arise, which cause unused gaps within thestack-like piece good arrangement and consequently significantly reducethe degree of filling of the loading space.

To avoid the confined space conditions within the loading space duringthe loading process, in so-called two-stage loading processes there is astack-like combining of a plurality of individual piece goods on loadingpallets outside the loading space and they are subsequently brought as awhole into the loading space. In this case a palletizing robot is usedfor producing the piece good stack on the basis of a predeterminedpalletizing diagram. In order to subsequently bring thethree-dimensional palletizing diagram into the loading space, it isnecessary to have corresponding loading aids, e.g. in the form of socalled Euro-pallets, which in this case remain within the loading spaceand therefore take up a not inconsiderable amount of space, which is tobe avoided.

DE 197 19 748 C2 discloses a means for handling piece goods,particularly packages, for the loading and unloading of a loading space,as well as a corresponding method, in which the individual piece goodscan be conveyed into and out of the loading space by means of avertically adjustable conveyor. To the vertically adjustable conveyor isthen connected a horizontally oriented conveying section, whose lengthcorresponds to the loading space width, so that in planned manner theindividual piece goods can be positioned for taking up or setting downat a random location within the loading space. The taking up or settingdown of the individual piece goods from the horizontally orientedconveyor section takes place with the aid of a corresponding suctiongripper device. The known means admittedly aims a tan optimum piece goodutilization of the loading space volume, but said piece goods have aspecific surface shape and are preferably seamlessly stackable on andover one another.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problem of the invention is to provide an installation for loadingpiece goods into a loading space preferably having an at least partlydeformable piece good surface, with a feed device on which the piecegoods can be individually fed and a transfer device onto which the piecegoods can be transferred from the feed device and by means of which thepiece goods can be brought into the interior of the loading space andwhich is so further developed that the loading space can be filledbetween the piece goods preferably deposited in stack-like manner withinthe loading space. It must in particular be possible to convey andhandle piece goods, whose piece good surface is at least partlyflexible, such as e.g. sacks filled with bulk material, e.g. sand,cereal or sugar sacks, in such a way that on the basis of apredetermined loading plan, they can be deposited in space-optimizedmanner within the loading space with a view to avoiding theaforementioned gaps. It must also be ensured that the loading processtakes place securely and safely in order to avoid damage or losses tothe piece goods to be loaded. The loading time for the entire loadingprocess is also to be reduced compared with known loading procedures.

The fundamental idea of the invention is a planned shaping orreorientation of the piece goods to be loaded before entering theloading space for further deposition. Shaping or reorientation takesplace in such a way that the individual piece goods are brought into ageometrically compact, stack-like form, which is retained throughout theloading process until finally the individual piece goods are depositedwithin the loading space for forming a stack-like piece good arrangementwithin said loading space.

This makes it possible to significantly increase the degree of fillingof the loading space filled with the individual piece goods. As a resultof an automated transfer into the loading space of in part compressed,individual piece goods which are optimized as regards their degree offilling, no further loading aids are needed, which remain within theloading space and therefore take up valuable loading volume. Instead theindividual piece goods are brought in layer form (two-dimensional) orblock wise (three-dimensional) into the loading space and are depositedthere whilst forming substantially self-stabilizing piece good stacks.As a result of the possibility of fully automatic loading of the loadingspace through lateral or frontal insertion of space shape-compressedpiece goods arranged in layers into multiside-closed loading spaces, thecosts associated with the loading process can be significantly reducedand in particular no labor force is required for transferring the piecegoods into the loading space.

The installation according to the invention for loading a loading spacewith piece goods preferably have an at least partly deformable piecegood surface has a feed device conventionally constructed as a linearconveyor system and on which the piece goods can be fed individually,together with a transfer device to which the piece goods can betransferred from the feed device and by means of which said piece goodscan be brought into the interior of the loading space. According to theinvention the installation is so further developed that at least oneshaping means is provided through which the piece goods can be broughtinto a predeterminable form or shape. The shaping means determining ormodifying the external space shape at least along a space axis of thepiece goods to be loaded brings about a planned, external forceintroduction onto each individual piece good, which therefore assumes acompressed space shape.

It is obviously also possible to use the inventive installation for theloading of piece goods, whose surface has no or only slightdeformability, such as is e.g. the case with packages. In this case theshaping means at least ensure a stabilization of the already presentspace shape of the individual piece goods, which once again have to betransferred by means of the transfer device and whilst maintaining theirshape predetermined by the shaping means individually or groupwise withthe aid of a loading means into the interior of the loading space whichis at least open on one side. In the simplest case the shaping elementis a plate.

According to a preferred embodiment the loading means with which theindividual piece goods are brought into the interior of the loadingspace correspond to the shaping means within which the individual piecegoods assume their desired compact space shape. The loading means alsoserve to bring the individual space shape-compact piece goods into theloading space for further deposition. Finally a separating unit isprovided for separating the compact piece goods from the loading means,so that the piece goods are ultimately deposited in the loading spacefor forming piece good stacks.

In order to obtain a very compact space shape with respect to theindividual piece goods to be loaded, prior to the actual transferprocess into the loading space they are subject to a force, preferablyalong three space axes orthogonal to one another with the aid ofsuitable shaping means so that the height, length and width of the piecegoods are compressed or deformed. Such a spatial compression preferablytakes place in the succession described hereinafter:

With the aid of an at least zonally, preferably motor-driven linearconveyor the piece goods are individualized or singled, e.g. fed inalong a conveyor belt in the are upstream of the loading space to beloaded. It is alternatively possible to construct the linear conveyor asan oblique plane along which the piece goods slide after one another.

The feed device constructed as a linear conveyor has an end sectionconstructed as an accumulating conveyor and which has a stop faceagainst which are conveyed the piece goods and as a result of theaccumulating action which occurs strike against one another under theaction of a force and form a piece good row. Along said piece good rowall the piece goods undergo an initial compression along a first spaceaxis, namely in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt.

In this state a transfer device ensures the transfer of the row-like,accumulated and uniaxially compressed piece goods into a shaping means,which preferably simultaneously serves as a loading means. Theloading/shaping means preferably comprises a U-shaped longitudinalprofile, whose length is dimensioned for the complete taking up of thepiece good row received from the transfer device. The transfer of thepiece good row into the U-shaped loading means takes place in such a waythat the piece goods stacked on one another, as a result of their ownweight, slide or drop between the upwardly open longitudinal profilearms of the loading means, so that the piece goods accumulated along arow as a result of the impact within the loading means are additionallydeformed vertically and therefore orthogonally to the piece good row. Inaddition, the spacing between the two longitudinal profile arms of theloading means is dimensioned in such a way that all the piece goodsbetween the loading means undergo mechanical pressure through thelongitudinal profile arms, so that each individual piece good isdeformed orthogonally to the vertical and to the axis along the piecegood row. Thus, within the loading means there are piece goodscompressed or compacted about all three space axes and which have amaximum compact piece good shape of an optimum nature with respect tothe degree of filling.

The degree of deformation along each individual space axis or the forceintroduction necessary for the deformation can be individually set orchosen as a function of the piece good type, so that on the one hand itis ensured that each individual piece good assumes an optimum, minimumspace shape, but that any damage to the piece good surface can beavoided. Such an individual setting of the force introductions on theindividual piece goods can e.g. be brought about through the conveyingspeed along the linear conveyor, the height of fall with which theindividual piece goods drop from the transfer device into the shapingmeans and the internal spacing between the longitudinal profile arms ofthe shaping means. Alternatively the piece good can be taken up by meansof a handling unit, preferably an industrial robot and preferably withat least five axes, and deposited on the loading means.

For loading the loading space, which preferably has a rectangularloading bottom, a specific number of space good filled, U-shaped orplate-like loading means are juxtaposed in parallel with the aid of aloading unit, to be described in greater detail hereinafter with respectto the specific embodiment, where they are made ready and transferred toa vertically adjustable conveyor with which the plurality of loadingmeans, together with the piece goods located therein can be brought in asubstantially horizontal conveying direction into the interior of theloading space at least open on one side. Alternatively the verticallyadjustable conveyor can be positioned below the loading space. All thejuxtaposed loading means have an overall width which is the same orslightly smaller than the loading space width.

In the case that the loading space is completely empty, a first layer ofcompressed piece goods is brought into the loading space in such a waythat the vertically adjustable conveyor vertically orients the loadingmeans just above the loading space bottom. This takes place insensor-assisted manner, so that manual assistance is also unnecessaryfor this setting process. If the loading space is already filled to acertain level, the sensor system, e.g. in the form of a light orultrasonic sensor system, detects the present fill level with respect towhich the conveyor with the filled loading means is vertically oriented.

The setting down of the piece good rows within the loading space takesplace in such a way that the conveyor moves all the loading means on thelatter horizontally into the interior of the loading space and comesinto engagement with a separating unit, which is fitted to the conveyorat the sides of the ‘loading space opening and has rake-like holdingmeans, which can be frontally lowered into the loading means.

The loading means are then retracted from the loading space inopposition to the conveying direction and at the same time the holdingmeans of the separating unit prevent the piece good rows inside theindividual loading means from being extracted together with the latterfrom the loading space again. Instead the individual piece goods areshoved out of the loading means along a piece good row relative to theparticular loading means using a “cake server principle” and areconsequently deposited on the loading space bottom or floor. By omittingthe external mechanical pressure acting on the piece goods within theloading means the piece goods brought out of the latter expand slightlyas a result of their own weight and inherent deformability, so that theycome into mutual contact in a layer-like arrangement and are able tostabilize one another.

The remaining loading process takes place in the above described,layer-like manner, i.e. through the successive transfer of individualpiece good layers into the loading space there is a correspondingincrease in the piece good stack height until a gap present for the toplayer within the loading space is filled with a final layer consistingsolely of piece goods.

As a result of the inventive, planned, external force action on thepiece goods to be loaded up to the instant where the individual piecegoods are deposited in layer form for forming piece good stacks withinthe loading space it is ensured that the piece goods have an optimum,stackable space shape, which utilizes the available loading volumesubstantially without any formation of space-wasting gaps between twoadjacent piece goods. The reduction of the gaps within the stack patternof the piece goods also leads to an increase in the friction surfacesbetween the individual piece goods, so that the frictional force actingbetween the piece goods is increased and at the same time the stabilityof the entire piece good stack deposited within the loading space isimproved.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses,reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Without restricting the general inventive concept, the invention isdescribed hereinafter with the aid of embodiments and with respect tothe attached drawings, wherein show:

FIG. 1 is a view showing the loading space situation with layer-likepiece good stacks;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic overall view of the loading arrangement;

FIG. 3 a is a representations of the feed device;

FIG. 3 b is another representations of the feed device;

FIG. 3 c is another representations of the feed device;

FIG. 4 a is a diagrammatic representation of the transfer device;

FIG. 4 b is another diagrammatic representation of the transfer device;

FIG. 4 c is another diagrammatic representation of the transfer device;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of the loading unit;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of the making ready unit;

FIG. 7 a is a representation of the separating unit; and

FIG. 7 b is another representation of the separating unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings in particular, the object of the installationaccording to the invention is to bring about an automatic, fillinglevel-optimized, frontal or lateral loading of flexible goods,preferably sand, cereal or sugar sacks, in a multiside-closed loadingspace. To bring about a maximum space utilization within the loadingspace, prior to loading the piece goods are brought into an optimumspace shape and/or orientation for loading purposes. The stack-likelayer patterns producible in this way within the loading space and ascan be gathered from FIG. 1, have a minimum of gaps between thestack-like piece goods. It is possible to implement with such preshapedpiece goods the palletizing pattern shown in FIG. 1 with x piece goodsin the loading space depth, y piece goods in the loading space width andz piece goods in the loading space height. The values x, y and z resultfrom the loading space 1 and the piece good dimensions, whilst takingaccount of or correspondingly using their deformability. The loadingspace 1 in FIG. 1 is constructed so as to be open on three sides to makeit easier to see the layer and stack-like piece goods. In general, thereis in fact a loading space which is accessible from the front orlongitudinal side.

For implementing the aforementioned object the installation shown inFIG. 2 in an overall view, in plan view in FIG. 2 a and side view inFIG. 2 b. It is a matter of loading in filling level-optimized mannerwith piece goods 2 the loading space 1 using a loading installationcomprising a feed device 3 and a transfer device 4. The latter has aloading unit 5 and a vertically adjustable conveyor 6, which is fittedto a slide system 25 movable in a substantially horizontal conveyingdirection. As an alternative to the vertically adjustable conveyor 6,the entire loading space can be moved by means of a verticallyadjustable unit.

The piece goods 2 to be loaded are individually fed in by means of thefeed device 3 (cf. also FIGS. 3 a and 3 b), which has a motor-drivenlinear conveying unit 7. At the end of the conveying section of the feedunit 3, the piece goods are accumulated into a row by means of anaccumulating conveyor 8. The accumulating conveyor 8 preferablycomprises a non-motor-driven roller conveyor and has at the end a stopface 9 against which strikes the first piece good in the conveyingdirection. As a result of the accumulation of numerous piece goods 2along a row pulsating and compressive forces act in the conveyingdirection between the individual piece goods 2, which are consequentlydeformed in the conveying direction.

As will become apparent hereinafter, the length of the accumulatingconveyor 8 and the piece good row which can be produced therewith aredependent on the length x of the loading space to be loaded (cf. FIG.1). Alternatively the piece good can be taken up by means of a handlingunit, preferably an industrial robot and set down directly on theloading means.

FIG. 3 c perspectively shows an alternative embodiment of anaccumulating conveyor 8, which is able to take seven individual piecegoods 2 in a row. Before entering the accumulating conveyor 8 there isan upper roller arrangement 11 parallel to the lower conveyor belt plane10 through which the individual piece goods 2 are already compressedalong their thickness to a predetermined minimum.

If the orientation of the piece goods has to be modified for achievingthe optimum filling density, the accumulating conveyor 8 also has aU-shaped transfer device 12, between whose side arms the individual,accumulated piece goods 2 are compressed to a minimum along theirthickness. FIG. 3 c shows the transfer device in perspective. The lowersidearm of the transfer device 12 in FIG. 3 c has a finger-likeprojection and projects with its finger elements 12′ into the gaps ofthe roller arrangement of the accumulating conveyor 8. This can also begathered from FIGS. 3 a and b, which reveal the spacing a between thefinger elements 12′ and the rollers of the accumulating conveyor 8. As aresult of the finger-like construction of at least one side arm of thetransfer device 12 it is possible to tilt the latter relative to theroller plane of the accumulating conveyor 8.

When the accumulating conveyor 8 is completely filled with piece goodsto be loaded, it is necessary to transfer to the loading unit 5 thepiece goods deformed in the conveying direction and along theirthickness. An embodiment of the necessary transfer mechanism is shown inFIGS. 4 a–c. FIG. 4 a is a cross-sectional representation of anaccumulating conveyor 8 filled with piece goods 2 and having a U-shapedtransfer device 12, provided with a closing flap system 13. Alongsidethe accumulating conveyor 8 is provided an empty shaping means 14 intowhich the lined up piece goods 2 must be transferred for the furtherloading process. According to FIG. 4 b the transfer device 12 tilts by900 with closed flap system 13 and in aligned manner over the shapingmeans 14 constructed as a U-shaped longitudinal profile. In FIG. 4 c theflap system 13 is opened, so that the lined up piece goods 2 drop in anaccelerated manner as a result of their own weight into the shapingmeans 14 and then in the drop direction undergo a further shapecompression. The internal spacing of the side walls 15 of the shapingmeans 14 also helps to compress the thickness of the piece goods 2, sothat the piece goods now compressed in all three directions in space bymeans of the shaping means 14 are kept in a predeterminable, optimizedcompressed shape.

If the length-related necessary extent of the piece good row could notbe reached by the preceding accumulating conveying, the length of thepiece good row within the shaping means 14 can be brought to a desiredamount by means of a not shown, displaceable stop in the longitudinaldirection of the shaping means.

The shaping means 14 filled with a piece good row then has to betransferred to the loading unit 5 (cf. also FIG. 2). This function isfulfilled by the making ready unit 16, diagrammatically shown in FIG. 5.The making ready unit 16 is positioned laterally of the loading unit 5and has a conveyor belt 17 with retaining elements 18 on which arepositioned empty shaping means 14 level with an upper working plane 19of the loading unit 5 and directly below the transfer device 12. Anempty shaping means 14 raised to the height of the upper working plane19 of the loading unit 5 is moved by means of a linear conveyor 20directly below the opening flap system 13 of the transfer device 12. Theabove-described, piece good-loaded shaping means 14 then pass via acyclically operable conveyor system 21 onto the upper plane 19 of theloading unit 5. The empty shaping means 14 made ready for filling by themaking ready unit 16 are made available from a lower working plane 22 ofloading unit 5, as can in particular be gathered from FIG. 6.

The lower working plane 22 of the loading unit 5, like the upper workingplane 19, provides a cyclically operable conveyor system 23 conveyingempty shaping means 14 in the direction of the making ready unit 16.Both working planes 19 and 22 have a fixed vertical, mutual spacing. Thelower working plane 22 is used for the taking up and buffer storing ofempty shaping means 14, whereas the upper working plane 19 of loadingunit 5 is used for the completion and making ready of a plurality ofparallel, juxtaposed shaping means loaded with shaped piece goods 2. Themaximum number of shaping means 14 which can be juxtaposed along theupper/lower working plane of the loading unit 5 also corresponds to thenumber y of piece good stacks to be deposited in juxtaposed mannerwithin the loading space (cf. FIG. 1).

When the upper working plane 19 of loading unit 5 is completely filledwith shaping means 14 loaded with piece goods 2, the complete layer ofshaping means 14 passes via a transfer mechanism onto the verticallyadjustable conveyor 6, which can be continuously vertically raised orlowered by means of a lifting table 20 (cf. FIG. 2). At the time oftransfer of the shaping means 14, the conveyor 6 is precisely at thesame height as the upper working plane 19.

The shaping means 14 the conveyor 6 and which are preferably made fromU-shaped longitudinal profiles of light-gauge sheet steel, consequentlyhave a minimum inherent rigidity and have at least one open front side,which according to FIG. 2 faces the loading space, so that the piecegoods contained in the individual shaping means can be deposited layerwise in the loading space in the manner to be described hereinafter. Atthis point it is indicated that the shaping means 14 can also be used asloading means and are employed for directly transferring the piece goodsinto the loading space. By means of the slide system 25 shown in FIG. 2,following a corresponding vertical orientation relative to the actual,upper depositing plane within the loading space 1, the conveyor 6conveys the piece good-filled shaping means 14 completely to just abovethe upper depositing plane into the loading space 1. The verticalpositioning of the conveyor takes place with the aid of a sensor systemwhich detects the upper depositing plane within the loading space.Preferred sensors are based on optical, light or ultrasonic sensors.Following corresponding vertical positioning the shaping means 14 usedas loading means are moved completely in layerwise, horizontal mannerinto the loading space.

FIG. 7 a is a diagrammatic side view of a layer of shaping means 14filled with piece goods 2 within the loading space 1. To the sides ofthe right-hand, open loading space opening is provided a separating unit23 having rake-like holding means 24, which are vertically lowered fromabove and in frontal manner into the shaping means 14 (see top andbottom representation in FIG. 7 a). FIG. 7 b is a front view of theseparating unit 23 and of the shaping means 14 loaded with piece goods 2within the loading space 1. The lowered position of the separating unit23 is shown in the lower representation of FIG. 7 b. Then the individualshaping means 14 are extracted from the loading space 1 and the piecegoods 2 are kept fixed within the loading space 1 by the holding means24.

The emptied shaping means 14 pass via conveyor 6 into the lower workingplane 22 of the loading unit 5 where, as described hereinbefore, theyare fed to the making ready unit 16. This situation is shown in FIG. 2,where the emptied shaping means 14 are located on conveyor 6 for furthertransfer to the lower working plane 22 of loading unit 5.

Loading spaces can be loaded in filling level-optimized manner with theabove-described installation.

As opposed to the two-stage loading method described hereinbefore, inthe loading method according to the invention no loading aids remainwithin the loading space, so that greater space utilization can beachieved. Another advantage results from the reusability of theindividual shaping means used as loading means. Thus, there are noadditional costs associated with loading aids.

It is also possible using the loading installation according to theinvention to load smaller loading spaces compared with theshaping/loading means dimensions described with piece goods. In thiscase there is merely a partial filling of the shaping means with piecegoods or only a limited number of shaping means is juxtaposed on theloading unit. Thus, the loading system can be adapted in modular mannerto a plurality of loading space geometries without expensive designmodifications to the actual loading system being necessary.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principles ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

1. A device for loading shapeable piece goods to a loading space, thedevice comprising: a feed means for feeding piece goods individually orgroupwise; a loading space having an opening on at least one side; ashaping means for receiving the piece goods, whereby said shaping meansestablishes the piece goods in a predeterminable shape or orientation; atransfer means for transferring the piece goods from said feed meansinto interior of said loading space, said transfer means having aforklike construction, said transfer means at least partly bilaterallyenclosing the piece goods on an accumulating conveyor, said transfermeans transferring the piece goods into said shaping means via a tiltingprocess and/or a translatory process; and a separating means forseparating the piece goods from said shaping means and depositing saidpiece goods into said loading space.
 2. A device according to claim 1,wherein said transfer means is a vertically adjustable conveyor on whichsaid shaping means with the piece goods is linearly movable in asubstantially horizontal conveying direction into the interior of saidloading space.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said loadingspace is located on a lifting table.
 4. A device according to claim 3,wherein said transfer means is a loading unit directly juxtaposed with avertically adjustable conveyor, said loading unit comprising at leasttwo vertically superimposed working planes each working plane comprisinga cyclically operable conveyor system for loading or unloading theworking planes with shaping means which are empty or filled with piecegoods.
 5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said separating unit isin engagement with at least one piece good of the piece goods locatedwithin said shaping means and wherein said shaping means is linearlymovable counter to the conveying direction relative to the separatingunit.
 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein said feed means is amotor-driven linear conveyor and has an accumulating conveyor as an endsection.
 7. A device according to claim 6, wherein said accumulatingconveyor comprises a stop face oriented transversely to the conveyingdirection of the feed device.
 8. A device according to claim 6, whereinsaid accumulating conveyor provides a sliding or rolling plane for thepiece goods, said sliding or rolling plane being flush or lowered withrespect to the bearing surface of the linear conveyor.
 9. A deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein a plurality of shaping means filled withpiece goods are transferred from the first working plane of the loadingunit to the vertically adjustable conveyor, wherein said shaping meansare arranged in a parallel, juxtaposed manner in the conveyingdirection, wherein the total width of all the juxtaposed shaping meansis the same or slightly smaller than the loading space width and in eachcase the length of the shaping means is slightly smaller than the lengthof the loading space.
 10. A device according to claim 1, furthercomprising a making ready unit for shaping means that contain no piecegoods, said making ready unit cyclically moving forward empty shapingmeans and orienting the same with respect to said transfer means.
 11. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein said shaping means is in the formof a U-shaped longitudinal profile with at least one open front side.12. A device according to claim 11, wherein the U-shaped longitudinalprofile has two spaced longitudinal profile arms with a clearly definedmutual spacing.
 13. A device according to claim 12, wherein the spacingbetween the two longitudinal profile arms is such that a piece goodlocated within said shaping means is given a mechanical pressure on itssurface by the two longitudinal profile arms and wherein said loadingmeans has a length corresponding to the length of the accumulatingconveyor.
 14. A device according to claim 1, wherein said transfer meansis a vertically adjustable conveyor comprising at least one sensorsystem for detecting an actual fill level of the loading space filledwith piece goods and a control unit for vertically moving the conveyorto the actual fill level prior to the transfer of the piece goods intothe loading space.
 15. A device according to claim 1, wherein saidseparating means is connected to a vertically adjustable conveyor andhas holding means for fixing the piece goods within said loading spacewhen the piece goods are separated from the shaping means counter to theconveying direction during the movement of the conveyor.
 16. A deviceaccording to claim 15, wherein said separating means is of a rake-likeconstruction, said holding means being prongs, said prongs being loweredwithin said shaping means.
 17. A device according to claim 1, whereinsaid shaping means receives bulk material such as cereals, sugar orsand.
 18. A device according to claim 1, wherein said feeding meanspresses the piece goods together along a piece good row such that thepiece goods are compressed along at least one axis orientedperpendicular to the extension of the piece good row.
 19. A device forloading shapeable piece goods to a loading space, the device comprising:a feed means for feeding piece goods, said feed means being amotor-driven linear conveyor having an accumulating conveyor as an endsection; a loading space having an opening on at least one side; ashaping means for receiving the piece goods, whereby said shaping meansestablishes the piece goods in a predeterminable shape or orientation; atransfer means for transferring the piece goods from said feed meansinto interior of said loading space, said transfer means comprising aloading unit and a vertically adjustable conveyor, wherein a pluralityof shaping means filled with piece goods are transferred from a firstworking plane of a loading unit to a vertically adjustable conveyor,said shaping means being arranged in parallel to a conveying directionsuch that the total width of all adjacent shaping means is the same orslightly smaller than said loading space width and the total length ofeach adjacent shaping means is slightly smaller than the length of saidloading space; and a separating means for separating the piece goodsfrom said shaping means and depositing said piece goods into saidloading space.
 20. A device according to claim 19, wherein saidaccumulating conveyor provides a sliding or rolling plane for the piecegoods, said sliding or rolling plane being flush or lowered with respectto the bearing surface of the linear conveyor.
 21. A device for loadingshapeable piece goods to a loading space, the device comprising: a feedmeans for feeding piece goods; a loading space having an opening on atleast one side; a shaping means for receiving the piece goods, wherebysaid shaping means establishes the piece goods in a predeterminableshape or orientation; a transfer means for transferring the piece goodsfrom said feed means into interior of said loading space; and aseparating means for separating the piece goods from said shaping meansand depositing said piece goods into said loading space, said separatingmeans being connected to a vertically adjustable conveyor, saidseparating having holding means for fixing the piece goods within saidloading space when the piece goods are separated from said shaping meanscounter to the conveying direction during movement of said conveyor.